Israeli government imposes sanctions on Haaretz, cuts all ties and pulls advertising
www.haaretz.com
***

Israel’s government approved on Sunday a proposal by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi that mandates any government-funded body refrain from communicating with Haaretz or placing advertisements in the paper. The proposal was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The decision, according to the government’s explanation, is a reaction to “many articles that have hurt the legitimacy of the state of Israel and its right to self defense, and particularly the remarks made in London by Haaretz publisher, Amos Schocken, that support terrorism and call for imposing sanctions on the government.”

The proposal did not appear on the government’s agenda published ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting. The Attorney General’s office, unaware of the intention to bring the proposal to a vote, did not review it at all and did not present its opinion, as customary. The resolution was presented to ministers during the discussion without any legal opinion.

In a speech at the Haaretz conference in London last month, Schocken said “the Netanyahu government doesn’t care about imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population. It dismisses the costs of both sides for defending the settlements while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters, that Israel calls terrorists.”

    • catloaf@lemm.eeEnglish
      531·
      20 天前

      One of them, and also the most left-leaning. The Times of Israel and Jerusalem Post lean right, and are generally supportive of Israel and its genocide.

      Edit: I should also note that these are the English-language publications. They have others in Hebrew and other languages, but you don’t see them posted in English-language communities for obvious reasons.

    • DolphinMath@slrpnk.netEnglish
      24·
      20 天前

      Nope. It’s a prominent one, but by no means the “main” media outlet. It’s also largely in opposition to Netanyahu and his coalition.

      Source:

      As of July 31, 2023, a TGI survey indicated that Israel Hayom, distributed for free, is Israel’s most read newspaper, with a 29.4% weekday readership exposure, followed by Yedioth Ahronoth, with 22.3%, Haaretz with 4.8%, Globes with 4% and Maariv with 3.9%.[1]

    • aeshna_cyanea@lemm.eeEnglish
      152·
      20 天前

      Good preview for what’s going to happen to the new York times under the new admin :)

  • acargitz@lemmy.caEnglish
    251·
    20 天前

    First Al-Jazeera, now Haaretz. Freedom of the press going strong in the apartheid state.

  • vga@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    191·
    20 天前

    Pulls advertising? Why would a government advertise in a news paper? Do they have new products coming next year?

    • azuth@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      9·
      20 天前

      There are legitimate uses like health information campaigns (vaccination campaigns, anti smoking campaigns) and other informatio campaigns.

      Advertising is probably a misnaming.

      • blackn1ght@feddit.ukEnglish
        6·
        20 天前

        The paper will still sell the spaces as advertising regardless of whether it’s an advert of a public announcement from the government, so advertising is probably right.

    • Jack@slrpnk.netEnglish
      81·
      20 天前

      Next year, genocide v2.0.0! More efficient, more deadly and with twice the US support!

    • acargitz@lemmy.caEnglish
      5·
      20 天前

      Common practice in many places. Not the government per se, but various state organizations to from healthcare to infrastructure to administration etc.

  • RickRussell_CA@lemmy.worldEnglish
    523·
    21 天前

    I mean… they’re both wrong.

    Schocken said “the Netanyahu government doesn’t care about imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population. It dismisses the costs of both sides for defending the settlements

    No lies detected.

    while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters, that Israel calls terrorists.”

    If Schocken is referring to Hamas, then he’s out of his mind. Freedom is the last thing Hamas wants for Gaza or Palestine.

    • Doorbook@lemmy.worldEnglish
      282·
      20 天前

      Say it as many time as you want, history will call them freedom fighter.

      When you live in area with no freedom of movement, no freedom of food options, no freedom of trades, and you fight, that it is a freedom fighter.

      Your people called movement in South Africa terrorist, called Irish terrorists, called Indian terrorists, called natives terrorists. Called everyone challenge you or support them terrorists.

      But at the end history called them freedom fighter.

      • RickRussell_CA@lemmy.worldEnglish
        710·
        20 天前

        Respectfully, I disagree. Hamas hasn’t allowed elections in the region since 2007. They are authoritarian, autocratic, Islamist statists with the sole goal of the elimination of Israel. They are not focused on improving the economy of Gaza, or granting freedom to the Gazan people.

        That’s exactly why it’s been explicitly stated Likud policy to support them — conservative leadership in Israel wants to see the people of Gaza violently oppressed and stirred against Israel. An enemy on the border serves the conservative agenda.

        A peaceful government dedicated to increasing Gazan freedom & independence would not serve Israeli interests, which is why Netanyahu has worked so hard to keep Hamas in charge in Gaza.

        • NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
          3·
          20 天前

          A peaceful government dedicated to increasing Gazan freedom & independence would not serve Israeli interests,

          Not defending Hamas tyranny in Gaza, but this is a contradiction right there. A government dedicated to increasing Gazan freedom and independence would not be peaceful, because the only time an Israeli leader attempted to bring peace to the region they fucking killed him.

          • RickRussell_CA@lemmy.worldEnglish
            11·
            20 天前

            Gazan independence does not demand violence; it only demands a government that is willing to put down the sword and negotiate, so that Netanyahu and Likud are not emboldened to continually tighten the noose. At least, that’s what Netanyahu believes – that a violent oppressor in Gaza is crucial to the success of Likud.

            https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/20/benjamin-netanyahu-hamas-israel-prime-minister

            Prime minister for most of the last 15 years, Netanyahu has been an enabler of Hamas, building up the organisation, letting it rule Gaza unhindered – save for brief, periodic military operations against it – and allowing funds from its Gulf patrons to keep it flush. Netanyahu liked the idea of the Palestinians as a house divided – Fatah in the West Bank, Hamas in Gaza – because it allowed him to insist that there was no Palestinian partner he could do business with. That meant no peace process, no prospect of a Palestinian state, and no demand for Israeli territorial concessions.

            None of this was a secret. In March 2019, Netanyahu told his Likud colleagues: “Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas … This is part of our strategy – to isolate the Palestinians in Gaza from the Palestinians in the West Bank.”

            • Maggoty@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              20 天前

              Ah yes, if we just let the authoritarian do whatever he wants he will stop killing us. How very Chamberlain of you. How very Appeasement.

            • NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
              1·
              19 天前

              Gazan independence does not demand violence; it only demands a government that is willing to put down the sword and negotiate,

              Like the PA did until 2000 (and since 2006, but you get the idea)? Like Hamas tried to do in 2008 and 2012? Both generally and in this conflict, that’s just not how that works. Again, there was only one guy who tried to seriously negotiate and they fucking killed him.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          20 天前

          Why should they? Israel showed they’re going to materially interfere in the elections anyways.

      • cygnus@lemmy.caEnglish
        219·
        20 天前

        I 100% support Palestinian statehood but to deny that Hamas are terrorists is absurd. A true “freedom fighter” would attack only government and military targets and would never condone killing 500+ civilians at a music festival. Do you believe that’s acceptable?

    • acargitz@lemmy.caEnglish
      13·
      20 天前

      If you had grown up in the open air prison camp called Gaza, and wanted to fight for your country, you too would have joined Hamas or one of the smaller militant organizations (PFLP and the like). Think of the average US election discourse: you don’t vote whomever, you vote for who’s on the ballot, least evil and so on. Same logic applies: when your family is repeatedly traumatized and your country is occupied, you don’t join whatever organization western liberals imagine, you pick one of the existing ones and join the fight. Simple as.

      • RickRussell_CA@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        20 天前

        Broadly I agree with you that, inasmuch as Hamas enjoys popular support, it is for exactly that reason.

        But, that does not mean Hamas is fighting for the freedom and independence of Gaza. They are fighting to push Israel into the sea, and any means to that end is acceptable to them, including putting Gazans in terrible risk.

        • acargitz@lemmy.caEnglish
          2·
          20 天前

          Any popular movement will never be monolithic. By it’s very nature as a popular movement it will contain all sorts. From fanatics and hardliners to opportunists, to idealists, to moderates, to people who had no other choice. So saying “Hamas is fighting for this or that” as if “this or that” is an immutable non-negotiable goal set in stone is ignoring the realities of armed struggle. If anyone is interested in peace, they would need to either completely annihilate Hamas, like Isis was, which the last year has shown is impossible, or more realistically to try to play on the internal dynamics of the factions, hoping to strengthen those that can make peace. For example, Marwan Bargouthi is ex-Fatah, but has worked with Hamas and the PFLP, and is more of a moderate than Sinwar ever was. If Israel was to release him, he could use his fighter credibility to push for peace.

    • small44@lemmy.worldEnglish
      23·
      20 天前

      Sure they just want to die fighting the IDF just so the IDF kill Palestinians while none of our countries does anything to stop this genocide